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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23886757">Devil's In the Details</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/NihilismPastry/pseuds/NihilismPastry'>NihilismPastry</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Undertale (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>1920s, Enemies to Lovers, Friends to Lovers, Hate Sex, Mob!Swapfell, Multi, Polyamory, Racism, Rough Sex, Violence, romance tropes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 15:35:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,529</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23886757</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/NihilismPastry/pseuds/NihilismPastry</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sans is a simple monster with a simple desire: All the humans to get the hell out of his district. Papyrus has even simpler dream: To make a ton of money and eat good food. Unfortunately for them, life is never as simple as we want it to be. Luckily the two have a duo of humans willing to help them out as they weave through the intricate workings of deals, contracts, and trope-y missions it'll take to make all their dreams come true.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>OC/OC, Papyrus/Reader, Sans/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>53</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The boiler helped keep time with the low taps of the drum and the gentle strum of the bass. The smoke it belched lingered with the sweet scent of cigars, and the harsh stench of cheap bathtub moonshine. The brick walls managed to deafen the noise from the street, and for that Sans was grateful. The coppers had been on their trail for the last week and a half, and this hole in the wall was the only place that was willing to let them hoist their game.</p><p>He snorted at the pun, and cradled his head in his hand as he watched a few of the humans roll their dice against the brick floor. Coins, stacks of cash, and even a few ‘IOUs’ had already begun piling up in the plum homburg resting his feet. It would be a pretty good night so long as the coppers just stayed off his metaphorical ass…</p><p>“Hey, you cheating bastard!”</p><p>His sole plum eye light flicked up from the hat and to a pair of humans. One had bloody knuckles, and the other was on the floor and holding his nose. “I ain’t do shit!”</p><p>“Then how’d ya roll seven twice in a row? Huh?”</p><p>Sans’ fingers twitched, and a much taller skeleton placed a heavy hand on the standing man’s shoulder. He twisted around, and his eyes went wide as he stared at the eyepatch wearing skeleton staring down at him. “We ain’t gonna have a problem, are we?”</p><p>“Look, Mutt. It ain’t me. Robertson over there being a cheating pig-“</p><p>Mutt cuts the man off before he can plead much of his case. “We ain’t permitting violence at these shindigs, is that the rules or is that the rules?”</p><p>His eyebrows pinched together and his left shoulder sagged the longer the skeleton held onto it. “Why would I mess this up? I’m paying for Darcy’s schooling here. Just give me one more chance. Please!”</p><p>The skeletons glanced at each other, before the taller of the two grinned wide and held out his free hand. “Gimme all your winnings.”</p><p>The man stared for a long moment, before his nostrils flared and he pushed the lanky skeleton back. “Hell no! I ain’t given my money to no money grubbing monster. I ain’t even the one in the wrong-“</p><p>A harsh yank on his collar shut him up, before he was spun around to stare face to face with cold, steely grey eyes. “Are you or are you not the one with bloody knuckles here?”</p><p>“What-“</p><p>There’s hardly another word before he’s slammed into the nearest wall, bones crunching under the force. “Mr. Papyrus asked you to dish up or leave. I’m giving you ten seconds before I’m gonna escort you out. Got it?”</p><p>The man scrambled off the floor, a trembling hand pressed over his bleeding nose before he stumbled through the crowd and out the door. Whispers echoed through the room, and all eyes stared at the only monsters that had graced the bar. The grey eyed human cracked their knuckles and slid closer to Sans, and the lanky skeleton seemed to stand a bit taller now.</p><p>“Now, now. No need to get all in a fit over a little whiskey mishap.”  A voice called from the stage. A few of the eyes turned to look at the human who was sitting on a stool, legs crossed and a smile on her face. “Aren’t we here to have ourselves a good time?”</p><p>When no one answered her she just gave a soft shake of her head. “Okay, I understand. How about the next round’s on me?”</p><p>There’s a loud cheer and the chatter of the bar flies, the aggressive insults of the gamblers start up once again and all seems to be forgotten. Sans nodded to the woman, but she now seemed caught up talking to the bass player next to her. He rolled his eye light at the slight temper tantrum she was throwing, he’d hear about it later no doubt, and went over to the bar.</p><p>The human behind it was quick to go over to him and give a wide smile. “Evening sir, what can I get ya?”</p><p>“Nothing right now. Did you get anything from the Costellos?”</p><p>The bartender’s smile dropped slightly, before his blue eyes glanced around and his voice lowered. “They sent someone here an hour ago.”</p><p>He raised a browbone at this. “Who is it?”</p><p>“Peter Costello himself.”</p><p>He was almost impressed.</p><p>Almost.</p><p>He glanced back at the crowd and scanned all the heads of hair and hats until he caught sight of pale blonde. It was attached to a stick of a man who looked like he could breathe his last at any given moment. On his arm was a girl who was young enough to be his granddaughter, and on his other side there was a hunched over his who was twirling a knife between his meaty fingers. The waitresses did their best to skirt around that table, and the drunkards knew well enough to keep their asses seated as far away from it as they could, even going so far as to prop an arm or leg up on the low stage.</p><p>Sans smoothed out his jacket before making his way over to the corner table and clearing his throat. The woman looked up first, and her large green eyes grew even larger from the shock of seeing him. “You’re a monster.”</p><p>“I believe I was one when I woke up this morning as well, Miss.”</p><p>The old man hissed out a laugh and looked up at Sans with a toothy smile. “Well, I think she’s likened you more to a devil, Mr. Grave. You’ve got the look of death about you.”</p><p>“Oh? I hadn’t noticed.”</p><p>Peter gestured to the table. “Have a seat. Have a woman. It’s a free country don’t you know.”</p><p>Sans sat down at the table, but waved off a slender redhead who tried to sit beside him. “I’m spoken for, I’m afraid.”</p><p>“Suit yourself.” He leaned back in his chair, the wood creaking despite his weight. “So, what made you drag me from my comfortable bed, Mr. Grave? It’s not often I entertain thugs.”</p><p>“I thank you for your time, of course,” Sans said. “However, I wanted to give something to you. I thought it would be better to give it to you in person, considering it’s been a surprise all this time. I would be rather upset to find it all missing.”</p><p>He put a hand in his pocket, and the knife twirling slowed down while Peter’s eyes narrowed. The scrutiny didn’t ease when an envelope thick as half a loaf of bread was set down between them. “The starter fee.”</p><p>“The what?”</p><p>“You said that we would be able to buy this speakeasy from you if we got you $1,000, and boosted the patronage by twenty percent.” He gestured to the money and then the people crowding the stage to listen to the woman crooning out a dirty old hit. “We managed both.”</p><p>“I meant it as a joke, Mr. Grave.”</p><p>“And yet we made your joke a reality,” He said. “My treasury specialists both wanted me to charge you for the increased revenue, but I thought that would be a gift from us to you.”</p><p>Peter snatched up the envelope and opened it. Crisp green bill after crisp green bill was set out on the tabletop, until there was a neat stack of them higher than the whiskey glass Peter had been sipping from.</p><p>“So, you really pulled it off…”</p><p>“As I said, we made your joke a reality.”</p><p>Peter snorted and wiped a hand over his face. “Well, aren’t you all a bunch of eager bastards.”</p><p>“We only do our best.”</p><p>Sans watched the old man count the money out one more time, before putting the bills back into the envelope, and shoving that into the pocket of his coat. “I’ll tell you what, I’ll give you the speakeasy well enough, Mr. Grave. You did what you said, and I’ll admit I’m a bit impressed by it all.”</p><p>“You’re very kind.”</p><p>Peter held a hand up. “No, not so fast. You see, I’ve heard a thing or two from around the way. You’ve been floating your little gambling ring all over town. To the O’Connor’s, the Locke’s, and even Chen’s little group. What’re you planning on doing here, Mr. Grave?”</p><p>“Would you like me to be honest?”</p><p>“It would be preferred.”</p><p>Sans laced his fingers together, and his amused expression dropped to one of ice cold indifference. “I want you humans out of the monster district.”</p><p>“Excuse me?”</p><p>“You asked for the truth, didn’t you?”</p><p>The old man sputtered, but Sans ignored him as he reached across the table and snatched up Costello’s whiskey glass. “You, the Chen’s, the Locke’s, and the O’Connor’s have had quite a time doing as you pleased in the Monster District. And the Queen, may she reign forever, has permitted it for this long because she’s tired of war. I however…” His grin stretched wide. “I happen to enjoy a good war.”</p><p>“You’re insane.”</p><p>“No sane person would jump into this business, wouldn’t you agree?” His smile dropped. “Now, if you all agree to leave peacefully we won’t have to be violent about all of this.”</p><p>Peter scoffed and pushed himself up, the blonde on his arm stumbling to her feet as well. “Sans Grave, you and yours are going to get in trouble for all this. You don’t got the guns, the money, or the guts to go against us. All of us. And the only reason I’m not blasting your skull off here and now, is because I can’t wait for you to get on your knees and beg for me to save your sorry ass.”</p><p>“We’ll see when the time comes.”</p><p>Sans watched the man go through the crowd, before he tilted his head back and drank the finger of whiskey. As he did the grey eyed human from earlier tumbled into the chair opposite him, their arms crossed and nose wrinkled. “Finally got rid of the trash?”</p><p>“You would call them that you little gremlin.”</p><p>They just grinned wide. “You love me.”</p><p>“No, I do not. I like the mutual beneficial business that we have set up together.”</p><p>“Is that what we’re calling this?” They wondered with a snicker, arms uncrossing to place a hand on their chest. “And here I honestly thought we were friends and all that nonsense.”</p><p>He pointedly ignored them. “Did you leave my brother with the players?”</p><p>They gave a sharp nod. “Don’t worry, Rus has them all taken care of.”</p><p>“Good.” He glanced to the stage. “And her…”</p><p>“Yuck, you’re drooling.” They leaned back with a grin, and rolled their eyes. “Besides, MY little songbird’s all taken care of anyway. Not like I’d ever let anything happen to her anyways.”</p><p>“Right. Right.” He took a pocket watch out of his coat pocket, and took a good look at the polished face. “It’s three AM. Let’s wrap this up.”</p><p>The gremlin got to their feet and grabbed a bottle of wine from a passing server. “You got it, Bossman.”</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Violence warning: None</p><p>Sexual Violence warning: None</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It took less than an hour to clear the place out, and the crooked smiling gremlin was sure it was entirely their fault. They twirled the broken wine bottle between their fingers while a lanky skeleton sank into the chair next to them. A cigarette burned between his fingers, and lavender smoke curled out of every orifice.</p><p>“So what did Sans tell you?”</p><p>They shrugged. “I dunno, what did he tell you?”</p><p>He leaned over and flicked the hat off their head. “Don’t play that game with me. I thought we were square?”</p><p>“I mean, I think we’re a lot squarer than you and the princess that’s for sure.”</p><p>“Fair.” He poked them in the cheek. “Come oooooon. Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on-“</p><p>“Fine!” They threw the bottle into a rubbish bin and flopped onto the table in front of the skeleton. “What are you, five?”</p><p>“No. He’s Papyrus.”</p><p>Both heads turned to look at Sans who had the singer on his arm. Papyrus straightened up a bit, and the Gremlin stole the hat off his head. “He most certainly is, Bossman. So, we really did get the property? Not one of those motivational digs?”</p><p>The singer pulled a bit of paper out of her brassiere and waved it around. “Signed and sealed~!”</p><p>Papyrus blew out more smoke from his nasal cavity. “Yeah, and what are the humans gonna do with the deed? Monsters can’t own property, and no offense, I don’t trust the two of you to keep it either.”</p><p>Gremlin tilted their head. “Why not? Aren’t we human enough for you?”</p><p>“I think he means you both are a minority group among your own people, and as a result it would take little more than a crooked judge and a few people up in arms over their ‘mostly legal’ businesses to get this out of our hands.” Sans righted a chair and sat down while the singer sat on the gremlin’s lap. “You can see how it would be concerning?”</p><p>“… No.”</p><p>“When you’re out of a job you will.”</p><p>“I’d be out of a lot more than a job bossman!”</p><p>The singer gave a low sigh and crossed her arms. “Please don’t start. This is why we’ve got a plan, right? I already gave Chara a ring, and they’ll be down by the house after their lessons to take it.”</p><p>Sans nodded. “Good, thank you. Now, what’s next to look after?”</p><p>Papyrus gestured to the bar. “Getting this place cleaned up? We’ll have to interrogate all the staff and go over security measures on our own. Don’t know how many spies are just slinking around, ya know?”</p><p>“I bet that bitch Selma is.” The gremlin snapped, tightening their arms around the singer’s waist. “She always gives my Princess a hard time.”</p><p>Princess rolled her eyes. “If every person that didn’t like me was a spy, you’d be the only one alive.”</p><p>“Not the only one,” They protested. “There’d be like… Two more… Maybe?”</p><p>“That’s egregiously high.”</p><p>“I hate to ruin a lover’s spat, but we’re going to need to get this meeting done with if we want this place open tonight.” Papyrus said.</p><p>Sans raised a browbone at that. “I have a timeline for all of this already, and you’re going ahead several steps of the plan.”</p><p> “No I’m not. You know how fast word gets out on the street? If we change things out and get this place open tonight, we can let people see the changes themselves instead of having however long to come to their own conclusions.” Papyrus said. “Remember that time Muffet fired a human and word got around she ate them?”</p><p>“That’s pretty believable for Muffet, though.” Princess muttered. “The woman never talks and stares at you without blinking.”</p><p>“Yeah, and we don’t want to start any kind of negative rumors.” Papyrus gestured to himself. “Already bad enough humans think we’re corpses.”</p><p>Princess sighed and pointed at him. “That. That’s something else that we’re going to have to work around. If you think the anti-Monster crowd is angry you’re here, just wait till the religious folks come crawling out of their corners.”</p><p>“Blackmail?” Sans offered.</p><p>“They came to this place to ‘convert people from their dark paths’.” Gremlin snarked with a roll of their eyes. “Nothing’s gonna actually hit with their congregations, not even if we had pictures of them riding on Ms. Red’s cock.”</p><p>Papyrus snickered at that. “Humans are weird.”</p><p>“You said it.”</p><p>Sans dug a hand into the pocket of his jacket and extracted a small notebook and pen. He flipped it open and once he got to a blank page, he began jotting things down. “I have a few people that I’ll interview today. If any of you have suggestions, I am happy to hear them.”</p><p>A few names are thrown around here and there, but otherwise it’s just the quiet scratches from the brass point of San’s fountain pen against the paper. When a dozen names were finally inked in a dark blue, he shut the notebook and shoved both instruments into his pocket.</p><p>“We should get going,” Sans said. “This was another successful evening. Thank you for your help.”</p><p>“Awe, you’re going soft on us?” Gremlin asked. “Next you’ll be giving us <em>hugs</em> and talking about your <em>feelings</em>.”</p><p>Sans pointedly ignored them and walked out the speakeasy door. The sun had long since risen, and people were already clogging the narrow streets, making a ruckus that rivaled the dinging from the trolley.  Sans slipped his hat low on his head and kept his hands in his pockets as he maneuvered down the sidewalk. A few of the Monsters that saw him scuttled out of their way, heads bowed and hands very much to themselves as they went into the low shop buildings and up stairs that led to their homes. Any humans that passed him by would either pointedly glare, or get out of the way with a curse and grumble.</p><p>He went past a horse driven carriage, and down a narrow alley before the world around him began folding in on itself like a sheet of paper, reopening again in front of a bright yellow house. It was longer than it was wide, and the windows were cracked. It was a right mess, but it was his mess and he was thankful for it.</p><p>Deep groans emitted from the stairs as he made his way up onto the narrow balcony, and the door shrieked like a banshee as he swung it open. Even the wood floors had something to say as he made his way inside the house. With a wave of his hand the door was slammed shut, and the lights flickered on with a spark and sputter. He shrugged off his coat and tossed his keys into the bowl sitting on a table beside the table.</p><p>Once he ensured everything was in its spot, he staggered to a single chair sitting in the middle of the living room. The wood creaked under his weight, but he ignored it as he pressed the heels of his palms to his eye sockets. There was blessed darkness now, and silence was quick to follow. He knew the moves tonight had been risky, and he still couldn’t believe he and his crew had managed to get out of it with minimal damage.</p><p>He had fully expected for Costello to take out his anger and frustration out on either himself or his subordinates. If not outright hurting them, then by going behind their back and ripping everything up they had managed so far. Hell, he had half expected for his songbird to suddenly go up against him for a pay raise. Something that Costello could orchestrate in less than a minute if he had wanted.</p><p>But no, everyone escaped out of the risky play without a scratch or change in loyalty.</p><p>A success if he ever heard one.</p><p>He dropped his hands from his eye sockets and stared hard at the royal blue carpet on the floor. He allowed his magic to pop and sizzle through his bones, before finally getting enough energy to push himself up and stagger into kitchen. This area was just as small as the rest of the house, and had just as few colors on the walls.</p><p>He grabbed a dented can off the counter and dumped it into a small bowl, before adding some already boiling water from a tea pot. He stared at the murky water and floating grounds for a long moment, before sticking a hand into his pocket and tossing in a few cigar butts and a left over horse racing ticket into the hell mixture.</p><p>“Bone appetite.”</p><p>He downed it all in one swig and felt it all ooze into his soul before becoming nothingness. Already he could feel his magic fizz and scream inside his soul, and his eye light become so much bigger in his skull.</p><p>He pivoted on his heel and left the kitchen and down the hall. Out of the four doors only one was open, and when he peered inside he found the room filled with roses and clothing strew about, waiting to be occupied.  At some point Princess and Gremlin had both come home, he could see them piled onto Princess’s bed with the blankets curled around them. He shut the bedroom door and went over to the only other bedroom in the house and leaned against the door, listening for any movement on the other side.</p><p>Nothing.</p><p>He should have expected it. Papyrus was rarely ever home, but he hoped that the idiot that hadn’t run off to go work…</p><p>Speaking of which…</p><p>He gave a soft sigh and fished around in his pocket for a cigar and lighter. It sputtered before an orange flame ignited against the cigar tip, and that precious tobacco swirled through him and mingled with the coffee. “Time to clean house.”</p><p> </p>
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